May 10, 1999
Non Compos Mentis
[B]Cerys Matthews[/B] recently attributed a certain Welsh sound to a steady diet of Radio 2, simply because Radio 1 reception there was so poor....
4 / 10
Cerys Matthews recently attributed a certain Welsh sound to a steady diet of Radio 2, simply because Radio 1 reception there was so poor. Combined with locally-grown hallucinogens, it created a generation of bands with a peculiar twist on easy listening and MOR rock.
You can hear it in Super Furry Animals' psychedelic ELO-isms, Gorky's' skewed folk, and in particular in Penygroes' Topper, whose second album attempts a path equidistant between those two bands. 'Non Compos Mentis' is a seven-track jaunt through hazy '60s folk-pop and '70s rock, with every reference point given a subtle tweak to knock it out of shape. It's at its most effective on songs like 'Another Planet', where Supertramp and Donovan go space rock, and the Syd Barrett-influenced 'Listen To Me', although too much of the album is pure folk sludge.
The result is a band who sound anachronistic and spaced out, but not enough of either. With neither the distorted vision of SFA nor the single-minded eccentricity of Gorky's, Topper exist in a cheesy middle ground, and the wonder is how such a strange combination of influences can sound so ordinary.
NEW! For the latest music videos and backstage interviews, check out our brand new sister site, NME Video.
Comments do not always reflect the views of NME, or IPC Media, for guidelines visit our Ts & Cs page